Rack



Jan. 4, 1955 J.'s. BURGE AE1-A1. 2,598,695

l RACK Original Filed March 11, 194'? United States Patent O RACK James S. Burge and Richard M. Goodwin, Anderson, and

Hilton J. McKee, Middletown, Ind., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application March 11, 1947, Serial No. 733,758, now Patent No. 2,624,374, dated January 6, 1953, which is a division of application Serial No. 169,935, June 23, 1950, now Patent No. 2,635,767, dated April 21, 1953. Divided and this application June 25, 1952, Serial No. 2 5,584

1 Claim. (Cl. 214--10.5)

This application is a division of application Serial No. 169,935, filed June 23, 1950, and now Patent No. 2,635,767, which, in turn, is a division of application Serial No. 733,758, filed March 11, 1947, and now Patent No. 2,624,374. The latter application discloses a machine for winding a coil on one of a plurality of forms supported by a rotary conveyor or dial which is indexed to carry the coil to a taping station where tape is applied to the coil and to carry the taped coil to a station where it is ejected and received by a stacking rack, the subject matter of the present application.

The object of the invention claimed in the present application is to provide for the reception and stacking of a predetermined number of finished coils upon a stacking rack, the removal of the fully loaded rack and the automatic placement of another empty rack. To accomplish this, the machine provides a rotary conveyor or dial carrying a plurality of racks adapted to receive coils, which are moved successively into a station at which each rack receives a predetermined number of coils as they are ejected from the machine.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a coil receiving rack in the loading position on the machine.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the rack shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a coil receiving rack.

The machine to which the loading rack of the present invention is applied, winds tape around a wound coil and delivers said taped coil to an ejecting station where a loading rack 931 is temporarily stationed to receive a predetermined number of such ejected taped coils. The coils are ejected by fingers 900 actuated at timed intervals to engage and push a coil from the machine onto the stacking rack.

Each stacking rack consists of four posts or rods 932, each attached in any suitable manner to two end plates 933 and 935 and to an intermediate brace plate 934. The Fig. 3 shows these plates to be rectangular and the posts 932 attached at the four corners of each plate, thereby providing a rigid and substantially light weight stacking rack. It will be noted that the corners of the one end plate 935 extend beyond the points of attachment of rods 932 with plate 935, while each corner of plates 933 and 934 is notched to receive a post. This provides a stop at the one or bottom end of the rack upon which the first coil, placed upon the rack, rests, the other plates 933 and 934 oiering no interference to the movement of coils from the, top or introductory end of the rack to the bottom end thereo A guide head 930 has a rectangular base portion having recessed corners which removably fit over the top ends of the posts 932 extending above the top plate 933. This guide head has its front and rear surfaces converging forming a nose 930a extending toward the coil at the ejecting station so that said coil, when ejected from the machine, may be guided by the head 930 and particularly its nose portion 930a onto the stacking rack 931, the coil encompassing the posts 932 as it falls by gravity toward the lower end of the rack.

The racks 931, eight in number in the present machine, are supported upon a rotatable conveyor in the form of a circular platform 940 which is moved through predetermined increments of a complete revolution at timed intervals, by a supporting shaft operatively connected and driven by power transmission means forming a part of the main machine. This platform or conveyor 940 has eight upright posts 941 arranged in a circular row and equally spaced one from the other. Each rack 931 has a tubular member 936 secured to the plates 934 and 935 substantially centrally thereof. When the rack is placed upon the conveyor, the tubular member 936 of the rack fits over and embraces a post 941. Studs 942 on the conveyor 940, one stud adjacent each post 941, are received by a hole 937 in the plate 935 of the rack for `properly locating each rack as it is placed upon the conveyor so that the nose portion 930a on guide head 930, placed on each rack, faces outwardly to receive the coils ejected from the machine.

As each coil is ejected from the machine by levers 900, it is pushed over the nose 930a of the head 930 on the located rack, the coil then gravitating toward the bottom end of the rack. When a predetermined number of coils have been pushed upon a rack, the conveyor is rotated so that the loaded rack is moved away from the coil ejecting station as an empty or unloaded rack is moved toward and into the said coil ejecting station.

The completely loaded rack is then removed from the conveyor and the head 930 is removed from the rack, exposing a loop member or eye 933a which provides means by which a hook conveyor may be attached to the coil loaded rack for transportation to another location.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

A stacker rack adapted to be applied to a conveyor of a coil forming machine with the conveyor having a plurality of posts for receiving stacker racks, said stacker rack comprising, a plurality of rods held in parallel spaced relation by a plurality of rectangularly shaped plates one of which is secured to corresponding ends of said rods and projects radially of said posts to provide a ledge adjacent each rod, a second plate having recessed corners adapted to receive the respective rods to position the plate within the perimeter of the area encompassed by the said rods, said second plate being secured to said rods short of the ends thereof opposite the first plate, a third plate recessed at its corners to receive said rods and secured to the rods substantially intermediate their ends and positioned within the perimeter of the area encompassed by said rods; a guide head having a rectangularly shaped body portion recessed at its corners to receive the rods and removably rest upon the said second plate, said guide head having a duck-bill shaped end curved to extend substantially normal to said rods to receive a finished coil ejected from the machine with which the stacker racks are used and guide the coil onto the rack so that said coil encompasses the rods; and a hollow tube secured between said rst and third plates centrally of said rods to receive a conveyor post to hold the rack on the conveyor of the machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,825,214 Swank Sept. 29, 1931 2,139,553 Little Dec. 6, 1938 2,187,580 Young et al. Jan. 16, 1940 2,206,121 Pierce July 2, 1940 2,334,439 Pierce Nov. 16, 1943 

